An investor checks out stock market performance at a brokerage in Fuyang, East China's Anhui Province. Photo: VCG

The Chinese A-share market opened higher on Monday, with the Shanghai Composite Index inching up 0.19 percent to 3,202.84 points by 11:10 am. The Shenzhen Component Index was up 0.48 percent to 12,997.81 points, and the tech-heavy ChiNext board up 0.67 percent to 2,645.44.

Shares relevant to digital currency, agriculture and precious metals led the growth. Shenzhen-based flash memory manufacturer Netac Technology saw its shares rise 5.66 percent to 18.86 yuan ($2.69).

Wanxiang Doneed Co, a grain seed firm based in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 17.74 yuan.

Leading domestic silver mining and trading firm Shengda Resources climbed 10 percent to 19.43 yuan.

On Monday, the first 32 selected companies on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," started trading with mixed performances.

High-tech firms Suzhou Tonyshare Electronic Materials Technology Co and Guangdong Winsun Bio-pharmaceutical Co Ltd led the growth, up 54.81 percent and 40.56 percent, respectively. However, Gold Times Culture Communications Co saw its shares drop 19.92 percent and PV ribbon supplier Anhui Jiaxian Functional Auxiliary Co saw shares drop 15.47 percent.

Among the 32 selected companies, 27 are small and medium-sized enterprises, and 28 are private firms. They are involved in 19 industries including software information, pharmaceutical manufacturing, computer equipment manufacturing, pollution control, and pesticide research and development.

These companies raised total funds of 9.45 billion yuan in the public offering stage, a result of their insistence on serving small and medium-sized enterprises while establishing complementarity with the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.

The select NEEQ layer has a 30 percent growth or decline trading cap, though it is not in place on the first trading day.